ath, though they had never ordered or authorized
them so to be taken.

They went further, and disabled, in a body, all the deponents
themselves, whether on oath or not on oath by discrediting the whole
province as a set of criminals who gave evidence to palliate their own
rebellion. They administered interrogatories to the commissioner instead
of the culprit. They took a base fellow, whom they had themselves
ordered their commissioner to imprison for crimes, (crimes charged on
him, not by the commissioner, but by themselves,) and made him a
complainant and a witness against him in the stupidest and most
improbable of all accusations,--namely, that Paterson had menaced him
with punishment, if he did not, in so many words, slander and calumniate
Debi Sing; and then the Committee, seating this wretch as an assessor at
their own board, who a few days before would have trembled like a
whipped slave at the look of an European, encouraged him to interrogate
their own commissioner.

[_Here Mr. Burke was taken ill, and obliged to sit down. After some time
Mr. Burke again addressed the House._]

My Lords, I am sorry to break the attention of your Lordships in such a
way. It is a subject that agitates me. It is long, difficult, and
arduous; but with the blessing of God, if I can, to save you any further
trouble, I will go through it this day.

I am to tell your Lordships, that the next step they took was, after
putting Mr. Paterson as an accuser to make good a charge which he made
out but too much to their satisfaction, they changed their battery.

[_Mr. Burke's illness increased; upon which the House, on the motion of
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, adjourned._]

SPEECH

IN

OPENING THE IMPEACHMENT.

FOURTH DAY: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1788.

My Lords,--In any great undertaking, a failure in the midst of it, even
from infirmity, though to be regarded principally as a misfortune, is
attended with some slight shadow of disgrace; but your Lordships'
humanity, and your love of justice, have remedied everything, and I
therefore proceed with confidence this day.

My Lords, I think (to the best of my remembrance) the House adjourned at
the period of time in which I was endeavoring to illustrate the
mischiefs that happened from Mr. Hastings's throwing off his
responsibility, by delegating his power to a nominal Council, and in
reality to a black bad man, a native of the country, of the worst
character that co